Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-05-26
have promised to go home and leave me
alone, though somebody would have had
| to pay for that mule"
Manufacturing Cut Glass.

Sub UIdSS.
His Majesty Myself 4" in Syracuse Standard.
Cut glass Genes high, and it is no won
der. Down at Corning the other day I
saw them making it, and though the hill
girdled village of the southern tier is a
very difficult place to reach from Syracuse,
I felt repaid for the hardships of travel
in what had the privilege of seeing,
Corning, n. Y, is getting bold advertise
ment the world over from this industry.
Until the manufacture of cut glass was
begun there several years ago by James
Hoare, it was thought to be as much
secret of foreign art as the making of
hair springs for watches. Thomas Webb,
of London was the master of crystal cut
ting and on the tables of half the monarchs
of the old world his wares have an honor
able place. Nowadays connoisseurs in
these things concede that as fine cutting
is done at Corning as abroad. The i'm
portation of glass in this form has ceased
almost entirely. Corning happened to
have glass-works where prime article
in transparency was made. "That's what
took me so far out of the world" said Mr..
Hoare, as he stood in the midst of his
treasures, clad in a frowsy working blouse
with his sleeves rolled up. 1t is the
greatest prize 81 Uuo col6DrdU0Q Gutter
that no man in his establishment can do
so good job as he can himself. All
his riches will not take him out of the
realm of buzzing wheels where the glass is
going through the cutting processes.
There are seven of these, all of which re-
quire skilled labor of a high order, and at
none of which can hurry be INDUCED.
The prismatic intricacies of the ware are
| Ill \
with sea-sand and dripping water. The
most delicate figures are produced by the
employment Of wheels of various sizes.
While I stood by, an artisan was cutting
in relief the crest of the Prince of Wales
upon a set of goblets ordered by wealthy
Anglomaniac. The three wavy plumes in
this heraldic sign were brought out with
all the effectiveness of q cameo under the
dainty touch of the workmen. Mr.. Hoare
| told me that the lead glass used for cut
ting costs him 60 cents a pound. There
is a loss of over SO per cent. in weight in
producing the finished piece from the
uncut vessel. The manufacture of this
glass is in itself very interesting. The
establishment is entirely distinct. All
the bulbs used in the millions of electric
lamps of the Edison plants throughout
| the world are made at these works. A
small army Of men we're filling orders OF
this kind tbs day I walked through. All
the Corning works the crucibles in which
the glass is smelted are now being made
For years it was thought necessary to i'm
port them, and as it is, their manufacture
is trade OF itself. Talk about the mud
pies of our childhood, here is where YOU
see the identical pranks of the gutter
anDlied to 8 valuable industry The wet
clay is kneaded and mixed in troughs by
men in bare feet, who give it the re-
quired consistency by repetitions of the
process carried on for whole days. Then
the clay is rolled into strips about the
diameter of bologna sausage and in the
hands OF moldelers built little by little
| i'll the desired forms. Each crucible
| represents labor worth over 500. They
are left to dry in storeroom for eighteen
months before put to the fearful test in
the furnaces.